Joaquin Buckley vs Nassourdine Imavov: Preview, Where to watch and Betting odds

On the prelims card at UFC Fight Night 209 is the standout Middleweight clash between American Joaquin Buckley and Russian-born Nassourdine Imavov of France in Paris. Both fighters joined the UFC in 2020 and have notched up some decent stats since then, especially Buckley who gained a lot of popularity after his fight with Impa Kasanganay in 2020 went viral and became an internet sensation.

MMA: UFC Middleweight

Location: Accor Arena, Paris, France

Date: 3.09.2022, 20:30

Where to watch: ESPN+

28-year-old Buckley from St. Louis, Missouri formerly competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy Fighting Alliance before joining the UFC in 2020, marking his debut with a loss to Kevin Holland. He, however, stunned Impa Ksanganay in his next fight with a knockout that earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus award. The knockout reel went viral on social media and even made it into a Kanye West music video. ‘New Mansa’, who started in Welterweight before moving up to the 185Ib class, earned three more Performance of the Night awards with the latest being his TKO of Albert Duraev in his last fight in June 2022. He is currently on a three-match streak.

I’m not in enemy territory. I’ve been getting all the love here in France, in Paris. To be honest with you, Nassourdine – I don’t know how long he’s been here, but I know he’s not born here. He’s a Russian guy – Dagestani. He sometimes carried the Russian flag, so a lot of people from France, when I said his name, they didn’t know who he was and they told me, ‘Go get him. Go knock him out.’ For France, that’s what they told me. I’ve got it on video. So at the end of the day, I think he’s in enemy territory, not me.

Joaquin Buckley

• Age: 28
• Height: 5’ 8”
• Reach: 76”
• Total fights: 19
• Record: 15-4-0

Born in Dagestan in Russia, the 26-year-old has fought four times since making his 2020 debut under the UFC banner. Styled ‘Russian Sniper’, Imavov has lost once in UFC and comes into this bout sporting a two-match winning streak. He fought in several regional promotions in Europe winning the TFL Welterweight championship in 2019. Currently, he is number twelve in the UFC Middleweight rankings.

• Age: 26
• Height: 6’ 3”
• Reach: 75”
• Total fights: 14
• Record: 11-3-0

Nassourdine Imavov has been installed as a huge favorite in this bout. Betting on him to win goes for 1.40 odds on Bet365. However, going for the underdog is priced at 3.00 odds, also on Bet 365. Looking at total rounds betting, over 2.5 goes for 2.1 odds on 1Xbet and betting for under 2.5 is priced at 1.668. A bet that the bout will be won via KO/TKO/DQ goes for 1.82 on 22Bet while the odds for the bout to be won on points is at 2.4 odds on 22bet.